Northampton Town F.C.
Full name | Northampton Town Football Club | ||
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Nickname(s) | The Cobblers Shoe Army | ||
Founded | 9 March 1897 | ||
Ground | Sixfields Stadium | ||
Capacity | 7,798 | ||
Chairman | Kelvin Thomas | ||
Manager | Jon Brady | ||
League | EFL League One | ||
2022–23 | EFL League Two, 3rd of 24 (promoted) | ||
Website | Club website | ||
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Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England, that compete in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, following promotion from the 2022–23 EFL League Two.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the
Northampton are nicknamed the Cobblers, a reference to the town's historical shoe-making industry, and the team traditionally plays in claret and white kits. The Cobblers played at the County Ground from 1897 until 1994, when they moved to Sixfields Stadium, which has a capacity of 7,798. Northampton's predominant rivals have been Peterborough United in the Nene derby.
History
Formation and early history
The club was founded on 6 March 1897 by a group of local school teachers who, together with a local solicitor A.J "Pat" Darnell at The Princess Royal Inn, Wellingborough Road, formed the town's first professional football club. Initially, their chosen name was Northampton Football Club, but after objections from the town's rugby club, the club was called Northampton Town Football Club. They joined the Northants League and spent two seasons there, winning the championship the second season. They then spent two seasons in the
Inter-war period
In
Rise and fall
Northampton were promoted three times in the five years 1960 to 1965. Starting the 1960–61 season in the Fourth Division, they reached the First Division in 1965–66, their only season ever in the top division of English football. They were then relegated back to the Fourth Division over the next five years, playing in the bottom tier again in 1969–70. During their top-flight season they earned a double against Aston Villa and victories at home over clubs including Leeds, Newcastle, West Ham, and Blackburn, the latter being the only team Northampton would finish above in the table.
Since their relegation from the Second Division in 1966–67, Northampton have played every season in either the third or fourth tier of English football.
1970s and 80s
In 1970, they lost 8–2 to
New
Early 1990s
The 1990s began badly, with the club
The club needed to win the final game of the
The Sixfields era
The club moved to new ground,
The following season started promisingly, with players such as
Northampton caused an upset in the third round of the
David Cardoza moved quickly and
After a poor start to the
In October 2015, HM Revenue and Customs issued the club with a winding-up petition over unpaid taxes.[26] (See Sixfields Stadium) In February 2016, Northampton Town broke their club record of eight successive wins by beating Wycombe Wanderers 1–0, extending the winning run to nine.[27] The 2015–16 season was successful and resulted in promotion to League One on 9 April.[28] A draw at Exeter combined with Oxford United's defeat at home to Luton Town meant that they clinched the League Two championship a week later on 16 April.
The Cobblers went on to play their first season in the third tier of English football since 2009. In the 2016–17 season, after a 5–0 defeat to Bristol Rovers, Rob Page was sacked and replaced with Justin Edinburgh.[29] Northampton finished 16th, meaning that they would continue to play third-tier football. They made it to the Third Round of the EFL Cup, where they lost to Manchester United.[30] On 26 June 2017 a 60% stake in Northampton Town was purchased by Chinese company 5uSport. The company indicated that they would invest in both the playing budget and stadium development. Although the investment was technically a takeover, Kelvin Thomas remained chairman and the two parties have acted in partnership since.
On 4 September 2017, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was appointed as manager on a three-year deal, replacing Justin Edinburgh who had been sacked after four losses from the start of the season.[31] His first game was against Doncaster Rovers five days later, a home tie which ended in a 1–0 victory for Northampton Town.[32] He was sacked on 2 April 2018 after Northampton Town went 9 games without a win and was replaced by Keith Curle.[33] He had his contract extended in July 2020 for a further two years.[34]
On 29 June 2020, the club were promoted to
In the 2021–22 season Northampton finished 4th, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion on the final day to Bristol Rovers.[39] Although Northampton started the final day in the automatic positions and managed to win their away match to Barrow 3–1, Bristol Rovers managed to beat Scunthorpe United 7–0. This meant Rovers would gain the final automatic promotion place based on goals scored across the season. In the play-off semi-finals, the Cobblers were subsequently defeated by Mansfield Town 3–1 on aggregate.[40]
On the last day of the 2022–23 season, they defeated
Club crest and colours
Shirt sponsors and manufacturers
Northampton's kit has been manufactured by Puma since 2023. Previous manufacturers have included
(2023–).The club's shirts are sponsored by the University of Northampton, since 2013, and PTS Academy, since 2016. Previous sponsors have included
Stadiums
County Ground
Northampton moved to the county ground in 1897,
Sixfields Stadium
The club moved to Sixfields Stadium in 1994.[43] It is a modern all-seater stadium with a capacity of 7,653 and award-winning disabled facilities. The stadium plan is simple with the west stand seating 4,000, opposite the smaller 1,000-capacity east stand known as the Alwyn Hargrave stand after the Ex-Borough Councillor who helped the stadium become reality. At either end are identical stands that are the same height as the east stand, the south stand usually for away supporters. (Against Chester City on 29 April 2006, the stand was split and supporters segregated to allow the maximum number of home supporters to witness the club's promotion to League One.) The north Stand is known as the Sheinman Opticians Stand, due to a naming rights partnership with local Opticians, Sheinman Opticians.
The stadium was renamed the PTS Academy Stadium in June 2018 after the club agreed a naming rights partnership with local training provider PTS Training Academy. [44] The name of the stadium reverted to Sixfields Stadium in July 2021, following the liquidation of PTS Training Academy.
- Training ground
Since July 2016, Northampton have trained at Moulton College in Moulton, Northampton. Before this, they trained at the former athletics track, located at the back of the East Stand at Sixfields Stadium.
Supporters and rivalries
The club's biggest traditional rivals are
Honours
League
- Second Division (level 2)
- Runners-up: 1964–65
- Third Division (level 3)
- Fourth Division / League Two (level 4)
- Southern League
Cup
- FA Charity Shield
- Runners-up: 1909
- Notes
- A. ^ On its formation for the 1992–93 season, the Premier League became the top tier of English football; the First, Second and Third Divisions then became the second, third and fourth tiers, respectively.
Club records
Northampton Town hold the record for the shortest time taken to be promoted from the bottom tier to the top tier and relegated back down to the bottom again, in the space of nine years.
The highest attendance at the County Ground of 24,523 was on 23 April 1966 in an important relegation battle in the First Division against Fulham. It is unlikely that this record will be broken unless redevelopment takes place at Sixfields. The record attendance at Sixfields is 7,798, for an EFL Cup match against Manchester United on 21 September 2016.[48]
Players
Current squad
- As of 23 January 2024[49]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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PFA Team of the Year
The following have been included in the PFA Team of the Year whilst playing for Northampton Town:
- 1974–75 Paul Stratford[citation needed]
- 1980–81 Steve Phillips[50]
- 1986–87 Keith McPherson, Richard Hill, Trevor Morley[51]
- 1999–2000 Ian Hendon[52]
- 2005–06 Ian Taylor, Josh Low[53]
- 2015–16 Adam Smith, John-Joe O'Toole, Ricky Holmes[54]
- 2019–20 Charlie Goode, Nicky Adams[55]
- 2021–22 Liam Roberts, Jon Guthrie, Fraser Horsfall[56]
- 2022–23 Sam Hoskins[57]
Cult heroes
The following were chosen by fans as the favourite club heroes in the BBC Sports Cult Heroes poll in 2006:[58]
Club management
- As of 29 June 2021[59]
Staff positions
- Manager: Jon Brady
- Head of academy / First Team Coach: Ian Sampson
- First Team Coach / U21 Player Pathway Manager: Marc Richards
- Head of Goalkeeping: James Alger
- S & C Lead: Ashlee Adebayo
- S & C Assistant: Joe Power
- First Team Physio: Michael Bolger
- First Team Analyst: Liam Jefferson
- Head Strategic & Recruitment Analyst: Alex Latimer
- Kit Manager: Adam Moreton
Board of directors and ownership
- Executive chairman: Kelvin Thomas
- President: Bob Church
- Director: David Bower
- Non-executive director: Mike Wailing
Managerial history
Below is a list of all permanent managers of Northampton Town since its foundation in 1897.
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References
- Notes
- ^ Club History Northampton Town FC
- ^ "County Ground, Northampton – History". Old Football Grounds. Archived from the original on 25 November 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
- ^ May, John (24 January 2004) Cobblers stroll down memory lane BBC Sport. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
- ^ The Origins of Northampton Town Supporters' Trust Archived 5 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine NTFC Trust. 2006-01-20. Retrieved 2009-12-29.
- ^ Conn, David (21 April 2010). "FC United homage to history as they prepare for future at Newton Heath". The Guardian. London.
- ^ Hodgson, Guy (30 September 1994) Northampton sack Barnwell The Independent. Retrieved 2009-12-28.
- ^ 1997 League Two play off final Archived 20 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine Soccerbase. Retrieved 2009-12-28.
- ^ Fox, Norman Northampton sing a joyous refrain The Independent. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
- ^ Curtis, Adrian (24 May 1997) Northampton Town v Swansea City Archived 9 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine Soccernet. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
- ^ 1998 League One play off final Soccerbase. Retrieved 2009-12-28.
- ^ Bernstein, Joe (22 September 1998) Hammer horror for Old Lady The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
- ^ Conn, David (28 December 2001) Northampton brought back to reality The Independent. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ^ Conn, David (22 May 2002) Arkan's lawyer has ambitions to take over Northampton The Independent. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ^ Calderwood joins Cobblers BBC Sport. 2003-10-09. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ^ Calderwood named new Forest boss BBC Sport. 2006-05-30. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ^ Gorman exits as Northampton boss BBC Sport. 2006-12-20. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ^ Northampton name Gray as Manager BBC Sport. 2007-01-02. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ^ "Reds crash out to League Two side". ESPN Soccernet. 22 September 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
- ^ "Northampton Town sack manager Ian Sampson". BBC Sport. 2 March 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ "Northampton appoint Gary Johnson as manager after Ian Sampson sacking". The Guardian. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ "Gary Johnson leaves as Northampton Town boss". BBC Football. 14 November 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
- ^ "Aidy Boothroyd named Northampton Town boss". BBC Sport. 30 November 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ "Bradford City 3–0 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ "Aidy Boothroyd: Northampton Town sack manager". BBC Sport. 21 December 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ "Chris Wilder appointed new manager". ntfc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ^ "Northampton Town issued with winding-up petition by HMRC". BBC Sport. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- ^ "Club records". ntfc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ^ Willsher, Gareth. "Northampton Town have been promoted to Sky Bet League 1". ntfc.co.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ "JUSTIN EDINBURGH APPOINTED THE NEW NORTHAMPTON TOWN MANAGER". Northampton Town FC Official Site. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ "Northampton Town 1–3 Manchester United". BBC Sport. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ "Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink: Northampton Town appoint new manager to succeed Justin Edinburgh". BBC Sport. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^ "Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink gets Northampton tenure off to a winning start". ESPN FC. Press Association Sport. 9 September 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
- ^ "Keith Curle: Northampton Town appoint former Carlisle United manager". BBC Sport. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ "Keith Curle: Northampton Town manager signs new two-year contract". BBC Sport. 6 July 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ Brent Pilnick (29 June 2020). "League Two play-off final: Exeter City 0–4 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ Brent Pilnick (29 June 2020). "League Two play-off final: Exeter City 0–4 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ Tom Garry (22 June 2020). "Cheltenham Town 0–3 Northampton Town (agg 2–3): Cobblers seal comeback win to reach Wembley". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ "Northampton Town 0–3 Blackpool: Cobblers relegated back to League Two". BBC Sport. 1 May 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ "Barrow 1–3 Northampton Town". BBC. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ^ Scott, Ged (18 May 2022). "Northampton 0–1 Mansfield Town". BBC. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ^ "Tranmere Rovers 0–1 Northampton Town". BBC. 8 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ^ "County Ground, Northampton". Old Football Grounds. Archived from the original on 25 November 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
- ^ Sixfields Stadium Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Football Ground Guide. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
- ^ "COBBLERS AGREE STADIUM RIGHTS NAMING PARTNERSHIP". ntfc.co.uk.
- ^ Swan, Rob (27 August 2019). "The top five rivals of English football's top 92 clubs revealed". Givemesport. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ Most appearances in a career. Archived 1 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine. ntfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
- ^ Most goals in a career. Archived 1 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine. ntfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
- ^ "Northampton Town 1–3 Manchester United". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Northampton Town F.C. Player Profiles". Northampton Town F.C. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
- ^ Lynch. The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. p. 143.
- ^ Lynch. The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. p. 146.
- ^ "Keane claims award double". BBC News. 30 April 2000. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ "Gerrard named player of the year". BBC Sport. 23 April 2006. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ "Leicester and Tottenham dominate PFA Premier League team of the year". The Guardian. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
- ^ Jamie Jackson (8 September 2020). "Kevin De Bruyne and Beth England win PFA player of the year awards". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
- ^ "Mohamed Salah and Sam Kerr win PFA player of year awards". BBC Sport. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
- ^ "Erling Haaland: Manchester City forward wins PFA men's Player of the Year award". BBC Sport. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- ^ Northampton's Cult Heroes BBC Sport. 2005-04-30. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
- ^ Who's who at Sixfields Archived 25 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine ntfc.co.uk. 2015-09-28. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
- Bibliography
- Beesley, Mark (December 2005). Northampton Town: A season in the Sun 1965–66. Northampton: Desert Island Books. ISBN 1-905328-01-X.
- John Watson, David Walden (October 2000). Northampton Town Football Club. Northampton: Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-1671-5.
External links
- Official
- Northampton Town F.C. – official website
- News and Statistics
- Northampton Town F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures
- Historical Kits – Graphical Kit History
- Every match result and League table since they joined the Football League